Animation Techniques Course

Lesson 1 • Staging and Silhouette Design

Teaches clear visual composition so every pose reads instantly from any viewing distance. Reinforces how staging supports storytelling and character clarity.

Lesson 2 • History and Evolution of Animation

Traces animation from early optical toys to modern digital pipelines. Establishes context for why foundational principles remain relevant across all techniques.

Lesson 3 • Anticipation and Follow-Through

Covers preparatory and trailing motion that make actions feel physically grounded. Connects directly to audience readability and emotional impact.

Lesson 4 • Timing, Spacing, and Rhythm

Defines how frame count and spacing between poses control perceived speed and weight. Forms the technical backbone of all motion design decisions.

Lesson 1 • Construction and Volume Drawing

Teaches building characters from basic 3D forms to ensure consistent volume across angles. Directly supports on-model drawing in animation sequences.

Lesson 2 • Rough and Clean-Up Drawing

Distinguishes exploratory rough passes from refined clean-up line work. Teaches the two-pass workflow standard in professional hand-drawn production.

Lesson 3 • Perspective in Animated Scenes

Applies one-, two-, and three-point perspective to animated backgrounds and character placement. Grounds characters convincingly within their environments.

Lesson 4 • Gesture and Line of Action

Develops fast, expressive gesture drawing that captures energy before detail. Establishes the dynamic line of action as the spine of every animated pose.

Lesson 1 • Animating a Walk Cycle

Deconstructs the mechanics of bipedal locomotion into contact, down, pass, and up poses. Produces a loopable walk cycle as a foundational animation exercise.

Lesson 2 • Lip Sync and Facial Animation

Maps phoneme shapes to mouth positions and integrates them with facial expression arcs. Connects dialogue delivery to character performance and emotion.

Lesson 3 • Animating Runs and Weight Shifts

Extends walk cycle knowledge to faster locomotion and weight-bearing transitions. Reinforces timing differences between light and heavy character types.

Lesson 4 • Pose-to-Pose Blocking

Plans animation by establishing key poses first, then filling in breakdowns and in-betweens. Provides structural control for complex, story-driven scenes.

Lesson 1 • Frame-by-Frame Digital Animation

Applies traditional frame-by-frame technique within digital software using onion skinning. Uses digital advantages like undo and colour fills to speed production.

Lesson 2 • 2D Rigging and Puppet Animation

Builds articulated character rigs using bones, pins, and mesh deformers for reusable animation. Enables faster character performance without redrawing every frame.

Lesson 3 • Keyframe Graph Editing

Manipulates animation curves in the graph editor to refine easing and motion arcs. Provides precise control over timing that cannot be achieved through pose editing alone.

Lesson 4 • Digital Drawing Tools and Setup

Configures drawing tablets, pressure sensitivity, and software canvas settings for animation. Establishes a productive digital workspace before any animation begins.

Lesson 1 • Keyframing Objects and Transforms

Sets position, rotation, and scale keyframes to animate basic object motion. Establishes the core keyframing workflow used throughout all 3D animation.

Lesson 2 • 3D Software Interface Navigation

Orients students to viewport navigation, object selection, and scene hierarchy in 3D software. Removes interface barriers so focus can shift to animation craft.

Lesson 3 • Blocking and Spline Refinement

Applies pose-to-pose blocking in 3D, then refines motion through spline interpolation. Mirrors the traditional workflow within a 3D graph editor context.

Lesson 4 • 3D Walk Cycle and Locomotion

Transfers walk cycle knowledge into 3D space, addressing foot contact and hip motion in three dimensions. Produces a loopable 3D walk cycle as a benchmark exercise.

Lesson 1 • Reaction and Listening Animation

Focuses on animating the non-speaking character in a scene to maintain engagement. Teaches that listening performance is as critical as speaking performance.

Lesson 2 • Personality Through Motion Style

Differentiates characters through unique timing signatures, posture habits, and movement quirks. Ensures each character feels distinct even without dialogue.

Lesson 3 • Dialogue Scene Animation

Animates a full dialogue shot integrating body performance, lip sync, and eye direction. Synthesises all prior performance skills into a complete acting scene.

Lesson 4 • Acting Theory for Animators

Introduces Stanislavski-based acting concepts adapted for animation performance. Connects internal character motivation to external physical and facial expression.

Lesson 1 • Particle and Fluid Systems

Creates rain, dust, fire, and fluid effects using particle and fluid simulation tools. Covers emitter setup, force fields, and rendering considerations for effects.

Lesson 2 • Cloth and Hair Simulation Basics

Introduces simulation-based cloth and hair dynamics within 3D software. Teaches how to guide and correct simulations to serve the animation rather than override it.

Lesson 3 • Hand-Drawn Effects Techniques

Produces frame-by-frame effects animation for water splashes, explosions, and wind. Develops the draftsmanship needed to animate effects without simulation tools.

Lesson 4 • Integrating Effects with Characters

Composites effects layers with character animation to create cohesive, believable scenes. Addresses timing synchronisation between character action and environmental reaction.

Lesson 1 • Receiving and Interpreting Notes

Teaches how to read director and supervisor feedback and translate it into animation revisions. Develops professional communication skills critical for studio environments.

Lesson 2 • Building a Demo Reel

Selects, sequences, and presents best animation work in a professional demo reel format. Prepares students for job applications and freelance client pitches.

Lesson 3 • Scene File Management

Establishes naming conventions, version control, and folder structures for production files. Prevents data loss and ensures smooth handoffs between pipeline departments.

Lesson 4 • Pre-Production Planning

Covers storyboarding, animatics, and shot planning before animation begins. Establishes how thorough pre-production reduces costly revisions during production.